Janet Lee Barton

Friendship turns to romance. This book does a good job with the storyline/premise but the prose needs some polishing. The author seems to have written it in the way that she (or in the way that she thinks most people) speak. This leads to many extraneous words and quite a few sentences that end in the word at when they don't need to do so.

The author did a good job at not letting the "does the other person feel the same way I do?" question linger on so long that it becomes annoying to the show more reader. That said, I don't know anyone who's had this kind of thing happen in real life. show less

Very enjoyable historical romance set at a boardinghouse in New York City. I really liked the characters in this book, the sweet and tender romance between Violet and Michael, and the boarders of Heaton House whose stories I'm looking forward to in the next books of the Boardinghouse Betrothals series. The descriptions of New York City at the end of the nineteenth century made me feel as if I was there experiencing the city for the first time along with Violet.

Ms. Janet Lee Barton has presented us with a typical best-friend scenario that goes farther. However, the depth of the relationship is viewed differently by the couple. I found this book an interesting way to spend an afternoon. All the elements are there for the book. It was a good read with little depth. The two main characters were interesting, but not complex. I recommend it to all, the young and the old. This would be a perfect young adult read since it has nothing within that would show more cause problems for younger readers.

~ TRS for AReCafe show less

Rebecca is the daughter of Mrs. Heaton. She has been mentioned in previous books in the series but has been missing for several years. Rebecca was found by two previous borders of the Heaton House and talked into returning home with her daughter. Rebecca was betrayed, lied to and deserted when she found out she was pregnant. She feels that her family can never forgive her. Ben Roth feels he isn’t worthy because several important women have left him in the past. First Ben saves Rebecca’s show more daughter from being serious hurt, then is there for Rebecca after she is hurt in a skating accident. These two things are the start of a strong friendship for Rebecca and Ben which leads them to start trusting and forgiving others, and most important to forgive themselves. show less